(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage, formerly Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, in residence at Oakes Center at 120 Morris Avenue in Summit, is offering summer improv master classes for adults and teens aged 18 and up. The classes, taught by improviser and director Dave Maulbeck, will be held Sundays in July from 10:00-3:00 starting July 10 and ending July 31. All students will be asked to show proof of vaccination upon registration.
Held every Sunday in July, these classes are a chance for improvisers to immerse themselves in a deeper understanding of the skills that make an improviser great. The classes can be taken individually, or as a series for a savings of $100.
On Sunday, July 10, the focus is on how to create more complex and varied relationships between characters in an improv game. Sunday, July 17 delves into character and point of view, and how to create unique stories based on specificity. On Sunday, July 24, it’s a longform crash course, breaking down how to sustain the thread of a theme using multiple characters, callbacks and resolution. And on Sunday, July 31, students will learn how to build an improv show of their own, using a variety of games to showcase performers and satisfy the audience.
These classes are for intermediate and advanced improvisers, professional actors and performers aged 17 and up. Students must have taken at least one Improv for Teens and Adults session at Vivid Stage, or the equivalent. A lunch break will be held from 12:00-1:00, when students can eat their own bag lunch, or go out and return.
Dave Maulbeck (he/him) is an entertainment artist and member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has appeared in several commercials, television shows and feature films, and has trained and taught extensively in improv at the Magnet, the Groundlings, and at various other New York and LA venues. He creates in many media, including animation, sound and film. He is the founder and director of The Flip Side, the house team for Vivid Stage.
Registration and class information can be found here. The theatre at Oakes Center is wheelchair accessible. Classes will be held at Oakes Center, 120 Morris Avenue, Summit, NJ.
Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Our work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. We expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. We deepen the experience of all our patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.
The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.
Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and many other corporations, foundations and individuals. Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
Vivid Stage, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
Photo: Dave Maulbeck
